


Hipster Horror

by SsorRryhpez



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: 100 percent, Arcadia Gays, Dana may or may not have a Halloween boner for max, Everyone lives, F/F, Gay, Halloween, It's Halloween, Its definitely there, Jefferson doesn't exist, Love Triangle, Popular!Max, Remember when I talked about Dana's Halloween boner, Victoria gets pissed af about people liking Max, aro-ace Kate, but she also pines soooo hard over her, fall!!, no one dies, or autumn for fancy people, why did I do this dammit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-09 00:25:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7779538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SsorRryhpez/pseuds/SsorRryhpez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max is worried about Victoria.</p><p>... And it's Halloween!!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Demon From Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Chapter titles from King Tuff songs  
> -Popular!Max  
> -Eveyone lives/no one dies  
> -Halloween!!

**Blackwell Academy**  
**Photography Class, Room 167**  
**Thursday, October 24, 2013**  
**4:47 pm**

Max is worried about Victoria. Well, more truthfully, she’s worried about whether or not the blonde is going to sneak into her room and try to strangle her with a designer scarf. Seeing as it's both the season for scarves, autumn, and the season for murder, Halloween, Max thinks she has more than enough reason to be cautious.

The photography classroom is dimly lit by one of Blackwell’s high-tech projectors, highlighted dust motes lazily drifting across its fluctuating rays of brightness. Mrs. Guetz, the new photography teacher, has drawn the blinds in order to further invest her students in the documentary, which is a look into the historical significance of a photographic technique called chiaroscuro.

Max, indeed the easily distracted student that she's known to be, lets her eyes wander away from the screen, peering at her classmates with quiet observance. She pointedly avoids looking at Victoria, out of desire to protect her personal safety.

Hayden, unsurprisingly, has managed to fall asleep, his head resting in what appears to be an unforgiving position on the hard surface of his table. Evidently it's more comfortable than meets the eye, because Max thinks she hears a soft snore coming from his direction. Thankfully, Mrs. Guetz doesn't seem to notice, her attention focused completely on her laptop. Max wouldn't sleep in class, but she's not evil enough to want her friend’s slumber interrupted.

Kate, also unsurprisingly, sits with her back straight, attention glued to the projection, vigorously taking notes. Max grins a little, her freckles moving with her cheeks as her face lifts. Truthfully, if Max was to like anyone at Blackwell on more-than-friendly grounds, it would be Kate. She’s so nice and sweet to everyone, always smiling and laughing with Max whenever they’re together. Not to mention, she’s amazingly intelligent, and cares so much about excelling in her classes. Max knows that the two of them aren't meant to be, given that Kate’s aro-ace, but a gay can dream, can't she?

Just when a black and white photo of an old man’s face appears on the screen and the narrator of the documentary starts to describe the techniques used in creating that particular shot, Max’s phone vibrates in her pocket. Making sure Mrs. Guetz is looking away, the tiny girl slyly takes a peek at her screen. Thankfully, the brightness is turned all the way down due to Max’s careful foresight before class. She's pleasantly surprised to see a text from Dana, and when she looks up at the cheerleader she finds her grinning slightly, winking at Max.

 **Dana Psych-Ward (4:56 pm):** Yo Max Attax!! You better be ready to hallow-brainstorm with me tonight! We've only got a week until fright night, so we gotta get ghouling!

Max shakes her head, grinniing in amusement. She'd somehow forgotten that Dana had managed to sneak into her phone and change her contact name to something more “seasonable.”

 **Max (4:57 pm):** You think I would want anything more than to talk some serious scare stuff with the queen of Halloween herself?? I'm always down for killer clowns, and you know it :o}

Max repeatedly glances up at Mrs. Guetz while she types out her reply, trying to remain as covert as possible in her rule breaking. Pressing send, she watches Dana’s phone move slightly on her table, hidden from the teacher’s prying eyes by her cheer bag. Max’s accomplice expertly reads the message without giving Mrs. Guetz any reason for suspicion, then promptly turns back towards her partner in crime, flashing a satisfied thumbs-up.

Max returns the gesture, relaxing further into her chair when Dana faces forward again. This is the part when Max makes her first mistake of the afternoon. She involuntarily glances a little more to her left, coming face to face, or rather eye to eye, with Victoria Chase. _Was she looking at me?_ Max asks herself, caught off guard.

Realizing that she's been caught, Victoria’s eyes widen and she snaps her head back to the front of the room, but not before Max thought she could see a slight coloring in the blonde’s cheeks. _Was she_ staring _at me_? Her body feels tense all of a sudden, and her face probably looks like Michael Jackson’s ghost just whispered “ _moonwalk or die_ ” into her ear. She decides that it’s better to assume that the supposed blush had been a simple trick of the dim lighting, perhaps a reflection of some sort from the projector. Max’s previous speculation about Victoria’s intent to murder her is brought to mind again, not helping to calm her nerves at all.

Max relaxes a little while after the strange event, focusing on conversation topics for Dana’s party-planning sesh. By the time the bell rings, she’s come up with an impressive list of issues, managing to remove Victoria’s weird behavior from her mind. Said girl, however, sports a familiar look of irritation for the remainder of the period, refusing to look at Max again.

As the documentary is forced to an abrupt halt due to the end-of-class bell, Mrs. Guetz goes about opening the blinds, and orange afternoon light spills into the classroom. Sensing a photo opportunity, Max pauses temporarily while packing her bag, picking up her camera carefully. Kneeling down slightly, the small girl manages to capture several individual rays of outside light cutting through the classroom air, along with Mrs. Guetz’ silhouette as the woman opens the last set of blinds.

Pressing the shutter and removing her eye from the viewfinder, Max retrieves the instant photo, shaking it gently and viewing her product, all without looking up from her kneeling position. Satisfied, she reaches over and stores the photo in her camera bag. When she begins to stand up, she finds designer boots, high quality tights, a tight pencil skirt, and a cashmere sweater staring her down. Victoria is standing all-too-close to Max, a look of mild annoyance on her pristine face.

“Uh-”

“I wasn't looking at you, Lamefield. You'd better remember that. _No one_ will hear about this.”

Victoria’s voice is hushed, but that does nothing to change her harsh, commanding tone. Max can't decide if the evident pink tint to the other girl’s cheeks is because of anger or embarrassment.

“Um, sure, Victoria, I wasn't going to tell anybody anyways…” Max says uncertainly, treading lightly in case Victoria suddenly lashes out like a snake. Out of all the people she’s met at Blackwell, this girl has proven to be the toughest to get along with. The blonde simply seems to have it out for Max, always seething in her presence and griping about ‘hipster trash taking over the school.’

“You'd better mean that, hippie.” Victoria warns, backing away slowly.

Max has to admit that the blonde really is beautiful, despite her not-so-pretty attitude. The sunbeams from outside set her short, golden hair ablaze, also creating shadows that highlight her sharp bone structure. Her brown eyes are lit up from the side, yielding a more piercing gaze than usual, revealing little flecks of golden pigment around her pupils. Of course, her clothing is immaculate as always, but Max can't help but still be impressed at how much work Victoria puts into her appearance. She itches to take a photo of this moment, but resists the urge.

Before the blonde has the chance to get away from her, Max lets a compliment fly in hopes of remedying the situation.

“You look really great today, Victoria.” She smiles warmly, only to be greeted with a sound somewhere between a gasp and a scoff, and increasingly red-tinted cheeks. The blonde looks Max in the eye, then drops her gaze to stare at the floor for a moment.

“Whatever.” She finally says, attempting to sound haughty, but her voice wavering slightly. She quickly turns around, leaving Max to stand, bewildered, trying to figure out how to stop the blonde from loathing her so intensely. She's tried being nice, making small talk, cracking jokes, and offering to help her out with school work, but nothing she does seems to make the girl despise her less.

Sighing heavily, Max packs the rest of her stuff into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and heading over to Dana’s table, where said girl stands talking to Hayden, another strong believer in the awesomeness of Halloween.

“‘Sup, Max? We’re just talking about inviting some more people from the Vortex Club over tonight to help with the game plan.” Dana informs, standing at more of an angle so Max can be part of the conversation.

“Yeah, we were thinking of moving the brainstorm sesh to the gym where the party’s gonna be, so we can actually see what we're planning.” Hayden chimes in, stretching his arms over his head with a yawn. Max laughs to herself, glad that the guy was actually able to get some good rest.

“Sounds great, guys! What time should I be there? Don't want to miss out on a good scare share.” Max grins, too excited for the party to refrain from making stupid rhymes.

“We set the start time for 7:30, but you never know, there might be some exclusive head-party-planner info going on at 7:00.” Dana winks again, smirking. Max wipes a fake tear from her eye, clutching her heart through her shirt.

“I never thought I would be worthy of being a head-party-planner, without even being in the Vortex Club!” She gushes exaggeratedly, though still honestly happy for the invitation. Dropping the ecstatic faćade, Max starts to head for the door. “I'll see you guys at 7:00.” She promises, stepping out into the near-empty hallway.

Taking her headphones out and slipping them into her ears, Max makes her way down the hallway and out the ad-plastered front doors, zipping up her hoodie as she's met with the crisp autumn chill. Everything looks golden and clear, the sun beginning its descent toward the bay. Long shadows from every object are cast against the ground, very slowly extending as time passes. Several groups of students still remain on the front lawn of Blackwell, some simply talking and sitting on the edge of the central fountain, others practicing their skateboard moves near the stairs, and even a group playing what looked to be some kind of poker game on one of the tables.

Eyes wandering around the commons area, Max spots Victoria, leaning against a brick wall and talking to Taylor and Courtney. The brown-haired girl still doesn't know what to think of Blackwell’s supposed “Queen Bitch,” but she can't help but want to figure her out. She's such a talented photographer, not to mention a beautiful girl, and yet she still feels the need to be a complete viper to anyone whom she feels threatened by. Max often feels frustrated by this, and even sometimes wishes that she could be the one to reach through her icy exterior and bring out the caring person she knows Victoria can be. She's seen her when she works on her portfolio in class; she looks serene, happy even, to be doing the thing that she loves. She’s seen her show emotion before; once, Max had accidentally walked in on her in the bathroom in the middle of the night, clutching her cell phone, her face red, tear stains streaking down her cheeks. Of course, Victoria had been mortified, pushing past Max and all-but sprinting back to her dorm room. Max, completely caught off guard, had recovered quickly and went after her, knocking on her door gently. Unsurprisingly, she received no other answer than a harsh “Go away, you shitty hipster!” and something being thrown at the door. Max couldn't forget what she'd seen, though. There was a real person inside Victoria, she just knew it.

Sighing, Max heads towards the dormitories, passing directly in front of Victoria’s group. The blonde is engaged in an enthusiastic conversation with Taylor until she glances away for a second, her eyes getting wider as she seemingly trips over her words, causing Courtney to wave a hand over her face, while Taylor tries to see where she's looking. Spotting Max, the long-haired girl lets out a short, uncontrolled laugh, causing Victoria to snap out of her funk and punch her in the arm, hard. Now, with her back to the group, Max wonders if Victoria’s cheeks had been crimson-tinted simply because of the cold. Shrugging, she picks up her pace, orange and red leaves blowing across the concrete path in front of her, propelled by a soft breeze.

Max had been worried about Victoria. Now, she's even more worried, and increasingly confused.

She wonders what sort of expensive brand-name scarf Victoria would use if she actually did try to strangle her. She bets that the blonde would look cute in any scarf, even if it had been used for strangling. _Wait, what_? Max shakes her head, removing that out-of-the-blue, nonsensical thought from her mind.

Maybe Victoria would try it with a necktie, instead, or a particularly expensive belt.

 


	2. Demon From Hell v2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> same gay, different perspective!!

Victoria is pissed off at Max. To be exact, she's pissed off about the fact that this stupidly freckled little hippie has managed to win everyone at Blackwell over in a matter of months. All she's done is galavant around campus like some poser, being “nice” to literally _everyone_ and flashing her infuriating little half smile like she owns the place. Victoria most definitely doesn't think that her smile is cute, at all. And she definitely never finds herself reluctant to tear her gaze away from Max during school. Nope, that doesn't happen.

Except, it does, and it's happening right now, in Mrs. Guetz’ photography class. Victoria mentally kicks herself for giving into the stupid temptation, but it seems as if some magnetic force is pulling her attention away from the chiaroscuro documentary and toward the person whom she tries  _so_ hard to loathe.

It's difficult to quell the sharp feeling of jealousy that surfaces when she sees Max practically mooning over Aces and Arrows over there, even though Victoria knows that Kate offers no competition.

Not that she wants to compete for Max’s attention. In fact, she wants to be as far away from the little doe-eyed nerd as possible, at all times. Who would want to be around someone so twee and lame? Definitely not Victoria.

She sees Max hide her phone under her desk to check a message, glancing up and grinning over at Dana, who subsequently smirks, winking.

Victoria tenses up, her already-ignited flame of jealousy roaring even brighter. The blonde practically steams in her chair, eyes burning holes in the back of Dana’s head. The Trick-or-Twins are probably planning some lame Halloween thing, judging by what Victoria’s heard them talking about lately. She definitely hasn't been paying extra attention to them, at all. Especially not because Max has started to hang out in Dana’s dorm room for hours on end.

Victoria sighs as she watches them exchange grossly-flirtatious thumbs-ups, her gaze still lingering on Max after Dana turns around. The shorter girl somehow manages to relax even further in her chair, and Victoria tries not to find that adorable, somehow managing to fail, despite how much she definitely hates her--

Max's eyes suddenly meet hers, taking the blonde by surprise.  _Why is she looking at me like that? Weirdo._  Victoria internally dismisses, right before realizing that she's been caught staring by the other girl. She, Victoria Maribeth Chase, has been seen practically ogling Max Caulfield.  _SHIT_.

Her eyes widen in shock, and she whips her head around to face the front of the room so quickly that it admittedly hurts her neck a little. She can feel her cheeks burning, so she prays to every mystical being she can think of that Max hasn't noticed her blush.

For the rest of class, Victoria is unable to look at anything but her table surface, for fear of more eye contact with the infuriating little poser.

A while after the incident, her phone vibrates on her desk, showing a new message from Taylor. Victoria quickly checks it, happy for a distraction from her mortification.

 **Sweet-T (5:04 pm):** Hey Vic, u feeling okay? U look a little red ;)

Immediately, Victoria regrets her decision to open the text. Her eyebrows scrunch together in irritation as she brashly replies.

 **Victoria (5:04 pm):**  Fuck off, T!!

Victoria shoots a death-glare across their shared table, causing Taylor to cover her mouth in attempts to hold in her giggling. Of course, how could Taylor and Courtney  _not_  pick up on Victoria’s “weird Max thing?” Ever since they'd noticed her paying increased attention to her neighbor across the hall, the two she-devils had deemed it necessary to torment her relentlessly about it. It's not like it's a big deal; Victoria knows it's all in good “fun.” However, she's not sure she appreciates being teased for something that she's still uncertain about.

The dismissal bell cuts through the voice of the droning documentary narrator, and noise erupts in the classroom as the projector is turned off and the blinds are opened.

“I'll meet you out in the courtyard with Courtney, but I have to go… do something, first.” Taylor says, grabbing her things quickly and standing from her chair.

“Alright, whatever.” Victoria replies, still a little salty about the text.

“Go get her, tiger.” Taylor says under her breath, not loud enough for her friend to hear.

“Hmm?” Victoria questions, raising one eyebrow suspiciously.

“Nothing!” Taylor assures, hurrying to the exit and ducking away from the other girl’s skeptical gaze.

Slowly rising from her hard plastic chair, Victoria finally chances a glance in the hipster’s direction, only to find her kneeling on the dirty floor, taking a photo with her clunky Polaroid. Scoffing to herself, the blonde pretends not to watch as Max presses the shutter, removes the photo, and shakes it with restrained vigor, peering at it with a satisfied grin.  _I wish she'd look at me the way she looks at her pictures._  Victoria startles herself momentarily.

She’s going to pretend that she didn't think that just now.

Making a split-second decision, Victoria strides over to where Max crouches, waiting as the smaller girl places the polaroid in her shoddy camera bag and begins to stand. A look of slight shock falls across her face when she notices the person standing in front of her. Her mouth opens slightly, and Victoria has to consciously stop her eyes from remaining on her lips for too long.

“Uh-”

The blonde is certainly not going to let Caulfield get in the first word. Standing as tall as possible, she tries to sound intimidating.

“I wasn't looking at you, Lamefield. You'd better remember that. _No one_ will hear about this.”

Victoria watches as Max’s expression turns from light surprise to trepidatious uncertainty. She tries not to dwell on the fact that the orange light from the windows brings out the shorter girl’s sharp, searching blue eyes, along with the abundance of freckles covering her cheeks and nose. She wants to count them.

“Um, sure, Victoria, I wasn't going to tell anybody anyways…” Why is it that Max speaks so confidently to everyone else, but seems so… careful when confronting Victoria? It's probably because she knows her reputation and is too much of a wimp to survive her wrath. She's sure that's the reason.

“You'd better mean that, hippie.” Victoria warns, starting to make her dramatic exit. Of course, Max manages to sabotage her effort within seconds.

“You look really great today, Victoria.”

An involuntary noise similar to choking escapes the blonde’s throat, and she can feel her face boiling. She stares at Max’s hopeful eyes for a moment, then throws her gaze to the floor, refusing any more eye contact. After a moment, she musters up the courage to reply.

“Whatever.” She weakly grumbles, desperately wanting to get the hell out of this building. She turns away quickly, heading straight into the hall, past any remaining stragglers, and through Blackwell’s front doors into the refreshing October air. Taking a moment to breathe and compose herself, she scopes out Taylor and Courtney, who are leaning against a brick wall near the path to the dormitories.

Taking a few more long breaths, the disgruntled blonde makes her way over to her friends, attempting to hide her irritation in order to avoid conversation about Max. Luckily, they simply greet her with gossip about some of the newest initiates of the Vortex Club, something about sexual favors in return for admittance. Victoria begins to feel more comfortable with the topic shifted to someone else rather than herself, relaxing into the conversation.

That is, until she looks up to see Max Caulfield walking directly past them, regarding Victoria with an unreadable expression.

Her eyes widen, and her cheeks suddenly seem to be fighting off the autumn chill more effectively. Her sentence becomes jumbled, nonsensical mumbling taking over.

“Hey, V? You go somewhere or something?” Courtney asks, waving a hand in front of Victoria’s face. The blonde is helpless as Taylor follows her stare, spotting Max and bursting out with several loud laughs.  _Wait, this definitely isn't something to laugh about!_  She realizes, snapping out of her hipster-induced brain fog enough to attack Taylor’s arm with a flailing fist. This only serves to exacerbate her hilarity, so Victoria opts to stare down at her own feet with quiet fury.

Victoria had been pissed off at Max. Now, she's somehow even  _more_ pissed, and increasingly unsure that she can keep hating the stupidly-attractive walking freckle for much longer.

She kicks a pine cone across the grass in spite.

 

 


	3. Black Moon Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cute little update because I'm winging this entire fic!!

**Blackwell Academy**  
**Auxillary Gymnasium**  
**Thursday, October 24, 2013**  
**7:07 pm**

  
“You… want me to write all my ideas on this whiteboard? I can just tell you what my notes say…” Max stands near an American flag in Blackwell’s smaller gymnasium, leaning against the old stage that extends into the far wall. Hayden hasn't shown up yet, fashionably late as usual, so the two girls are alone in the large, harshly-lit room.

“Come on, Max! We've gotta make this official! Lots of people are gonna be at this party, so we have to go all the way in the planning.” Dana lounges in a tan metal chair, facing the moveable whiteboard placed in front of the stage. She's set up several other seats, completely serious about Max leading the discussion. Privately, she's also serious about watching Max’s ass when she shrugs and turns around, beginning to write.

What can she say? Halloween makes her a little sexually adventurous. She has to admit, Max would look great in a hot teacher costume.

_“Miss Ward, your attendance has been quite lacking, lately. Perhaps I need to give you a little… incentive to come to class?”_

Dana shakes herself out of her fantasy.

Okay, maybe their mutual love for Halloween isn't the only reason her eyes are glued to Max’s cute butt.

Whatever, she'll cross that sexuality bridge when she comes to it. For now, she'll just sit back and enjoy the view.

\----------

 **Blackwell Academy  
** Prescott Dormitory, Female Ward, Room **221**  
**Thursday, October 24** , **2013**  
**11:42 pm**

If she hears another crash, scream, or hipster-giggle from across the hall, Victoria’s going to snap.

She can't very well study for her upcoming German quiz while being bombarded by sounds of Max and Dana (loudly) watching dumb horror movies fifteen feet away from her desk.

_How can two people be so obsessed with such a dumb holiday? Damn Skele-skanks._

Victoria almost feels guilty for mentally insulting Max, but then she remembers that she shouldn't-- _doesn’t_ \-- care.

Sighing heavily, the disgruntled girl lets her tired eyes wander away from her laptop screen and around her room, lost in thought as she takes in the space.

She wonders if Max would like her decor as much as everyone else seems to.

A movie-scream erupts from the chaos across the hall, followed quickly by the loud thump of something hitting the floor and an outburst of laughter from Dana.

Victoria eyes the blown-up self portraits that hang above her bed, their surfaces lightly touched by the dim, yellow light of the desk lamp.

She wonders if she and Max could ever become close enough for her hidden insecurities to be washed away.

The crimson and orange bricks that accent one wall of the room mesh extraordinarily well with the glowing golden light of the lamp, casting an aura of warmness throughout the space.

She wonders why she doesn't just drop this ignorant act and accept her feelings for Max.

The room feels cold and lonely, despite its appearance.

So does Victoria.

\----------

 **Blackwell Academy  
** Prescott Dormitory, Female Ward, **Room 219**  
**Friday, October 25, 2013**  
**12:02 am**

By the end of the 1996 version of  _Scream_ , Max is rendered immovable by a fast-asleep Dana Ward, who currently rests her head and shoulders on the smaller girl’s midriff. Her arms are wrapped around Max’s body as the two lie, wrapped in blankets like mummies, on the latter’s wonderfully cozy futon, having just watched a couple classic thrillers after returning to the dorms from the party prep meeting. Maybe they did sometimes go a little overboard with Halloween, but what's wrong with excessive spookiness?

The brainstorming session had been a success, with an awesome turnout and great participation from everyone who showed. Max has to hand it to the Vortex Club; they definitely care about their parties.

When the meeting had officially begun, Max had been surprised about the lack of a certain tall, bossy, confusing person’s presence in the Vortex crowd. What came as an even further shock was that she had felt a sense of disappointment at Victoria's absence.

Ever since their strange string of encounters during and after photography class, the blonde’s flushed face hasn't stopped floating around in Max’s subconscious. Why do certain physical clues point to Victoria being interested in her, but all verbal evidence suggest the opposite? Confusion is not an emotion that Max is used to feeling, yet, as hard as she tries, she simply cannot decipher a logical explanation for the blonde’s recent behavior.

Sighing lightly so as to not wake Dana up, Max tries to relax, leaning over to their make-shift coffee table-- a stack of books and boxes found strewn around the room-- to close her laptop and become enshrouded in soft darkness. Her head rests comfortably on her pillow, brought from her bed for this occasion. Shockingly, even with Dana’s weight holding her down, Max finds a more-than-bearable sleeping position, eyes drooping as she begins to drift into unconsciousness. Her last coherent thought before she falls asleep is of Victoria, despite the presence of the increasingly-friendly person currently sharing her couch and her warmth.

Her mind remains focused on the girl across the hall instead of the girl practically in her arms.

 _Why won't Victoria just tell me how she actually feels_?

 


	4. Beautiful Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gay-ception

 

 **Blackwell Academy**  
**Prescott Dormitory, Female Ward, Room 219**  
**Friday, October 25, 2013**  
**9:47 am**

She feels amazingly warm, despite the chilly air of the dormitory. Dana’s blurry consciousness seems as if it wants to remain as such indefinitely, perpetually floating in a gooey state of half-awareness. Without opening her heavy eyelids, she uses her other senses to become familiar with her surroundings.

Her body seems to be covered with a few soft blankets, but there's another object she's making contact with, one that isn't sedentary. Its surface rises and falls rhythmically, lifting Dana’s head one moment and lowering it the next. It feels even warmer than the blankets themselves, further relaxing the cheerleader as she wraps her arms around it more tightly.

Everything around her smells _amazing_. The blankets, her clothes, and the really warm thing especially, seem to be laden with the wonderful scent, something Dana has to work hard to put her finger on. The air is laced with hints of cinnamon, plain soap, and another certain inexplicable smell that, while intoxicating to the girl, she simply cannot place. She breathes in deeply, making connections in her mind between these scents and things in her life. _Warmth, softness, cinnamon, store bought soap… Max_!

Memories of the previous night flood back into Dana’s mind, causing her to grin slightly, basking in the morning calmness as she flutters her eyelids open, blinking against the bright, yellow sunlight that spills into the room. She tries not to think about the implications of the increasingly evident fact that she could possibly be starting to like Max in a more-than-friendly way. Would this change the way people see her? Would she lose friends? Would she lose Max?

She dismisses the negative thoughts as she looks up at Max’s face; the shorter girl’s mouth is slightly open, her expression blank as she steadily breathes in and out. Her hair is an endearing disaster, sticking up every which way, only increasing her adorability. There's no way anyone could fault Dana for wanting to hold hands and do cheesy couple-stuff with someone so cute, right?

When she shifts slightly to give herself a better view of the person she's laying on, Dana almost regrets it, because she manages to stir Max from her slumber, her eyelashes blinking and casting shadows across her freckled cheeks. She squints her dark blue eyes against the morning light, momentarily seeming confused as to why she's on her couch instead of her bed. Realization eventually spreads across her face, an expression of light amusement surfacing. She looks down to meet Dana’s eyes, at sort of an awkward angle due to their position.

“Morning.” Max’s voice is scratchy from the night, cracking slightly when she speaks. Dana’s heart melts a little. She's screwed.

“Hey,” She replies, moving to sit up and swing her pajama short-clad legs off of the couch. Max does the same, but doesn't change the proximity between the two; their thighs still touch. Dana turns her body slightly to face the other girl. “Sleep well?” She asks, smiling and not realizing that she has placed her hand on Max’s leg.

“Yeah, you make a pretty great blanket.” Max says, letting out a soft chuckle, her voice still a little hoarse and very endearing.

“Your pillow impression is just as good.” Dana returns, leaning towards Max, also without realizing. The shorter girl grins, either not seeing their closeness or not minding it. Dana hopes that it's the latter.

“Hey, uh, Maxamillion?” She starts, playing off her sudden nervousness with humor. She now recognizes her position, hand on Max’s thigh, their faces about half a foot apart. She can feel the room getting warmer around her.

“Yeah?” Max, seeming to notice Dana’s shift in mood, turns herself on the couch so that she sits cross legged, facing the cheerleader. Dana’s hand gets jostled in the process, so she removes it and runs her fingers through her long hair, out of its usual ponytail. Without her earrings and glamorous clothing, she feels like she's showing her true self to Max, not hiding behind appearances and popularity.

“Do you, um… Can I ask you something?” She stumbles over the question, breaking eye contact to look down at her lap.

“Sure, Dana, anything.” Max says, taking up her sincere, serious, caring tone that can make anyone feel safe. “Everything’s okay, right?”

Dana lets out a small laugh, eyeing Max from the side and giving a tiny smile.

“Yeah, everything’s awesome.” She assures, looking away again as she prepares what she has to say, admiring Max’s wall of photos, their surfaces glinting in the golden light.

“I just… I wanted to know if, you, um… if you like girls.” She seems to shrink in on herself as she puts her thoughts out in the open, eyes looking anywhere but at Max. “I've been having these new feelings when I'm around you, and I think I might, you know, _like_ like you, like, above friendship tier. I just need to know if there's any possibility of something happening between us, or if you're going to freak out on me and never talk to me again.” She brings her knees up to her chest, hugging them and daring to look over at Max. She's shocked to see an expression of amusement and happiness on the shorter girl’s face, eyes crinkled in a silent laugh.

“Ward, if you haven't noticed how gay I am yet, you're going to need to get a few major detective lessons from Juliet.” She quips, shoving Dana’s shoulder affectionately. A little shell-shocked, and unprepared for the sudden push, the usually-graceful cheerleader manages to lose her balance and topple down onto the carpet.

“Oh, shit, are you okay?” Max tries to stand up, only to tangle her feet with Dana’s legs and end up landing next to her on the floor. The pushed girl watches Max as she begins to sit up, floundering a little as she turns to face her.

“I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you so hard! I ruined the moment, I--

Dana lets out a quiet laugh, turning into a short round of chuckles. She sits up to face Max, expression glowing, golden light from the window warming her back and lighting up her hair. The other girl stops apologizing, looking on in slight awe, her cheeks a little pink from embarrassment.

Suddenly, Dana is hugging Max, her head pressed into the other girl’s shoulder.

“Max, do you want to be my, um, girlfriend?” She has a little trouble putting the sentence together, her voice muffled in Max’s coffee cup-patterned pajama shirt. “Sorry, I'm still getting used to the whole girl on girl thing.” She says meekly, pulling away and waiting for an answer, adrenaline coursing through her system. The only person she's ever been with is Trevor, but their relationship basically ended when he dropped out of school and moved back home to Michigan. They had tried for the long-distance option, but had eventually lost touch and stopped talking. Dana doesn't like to think about it.

“You know what, Psych-Ward? Yeah, I do.” Max seems to decide, after a moment of thought. She smiles, a little lopsided, and leans forward to lightly kiss Dana on the cheek. Her lips feel soft, sending tingles across the cheerleader’s body from their point of connection. The other girl grabs her hand and stands, pulling Dana up to stand close to her. Their hands remain clasped as they stay there for a moment, looking at each other, smiling like idiots. Dana’s cheeks are very red from the kiss, but that doesn't stop Max from leaning forward and standing on her tiptoes until their noses are almost touching.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door, startling Dana, but not fazing Max. Slyly, the shorter girl quickly pecks the other’s lips before whirling around to answer the door.

Dana stands with bright red cheeks, shocked yet again. Max opens the door wide, revealing Victoria Chase, of all people, fully composed and dressed to kill. Dana can see Max’s spine immediately tighten.

“Victoria? What are you--”

\----------

“Do you two hooligans realize that you kept the entire dorm from sleeping last night?” Victoria seethes. “You're lucky I didn't report you for being out of your room past curfew.” She directs her second statement at Dana, barging past Max and into the room. Not only had she been unable to finish her project the previous night, but she had also been unable to sleep until the Spooky Spice Girls stopped practically screaming their lungs out.

“Hey, you can't just come into my room--” Max starts, only to be cut off again. Victoria isn't going to let her get a word in edgewise, no matter how adorable she looks in her coffee T-shirt-- _No! Now is not the time for you to give in to your stupid crush!_

“Oh, yes I can, Caulfield. I couldn't finish my German homework because of you. Mrs. Deneb is going to be on my ass, and--” She stops, noticing for the first time the rumpled blankets on Max’s futon, Dana’s flushed cheeks, and the remnants of lipstick smudged on both of their lips.

“And--” She tries to finish her sentence, but she’s too caught off guard to keep her composure, her voice wavering. Expressions of confusion, realization, disappointment, and finally bitterness cross her face. She folds her arms against her chest after a moment of awkward silence, walking briskly back into the hall, uncaringly bumping her shoulder into Max’s. She hates herself for relishing even _this_ contact with the other girl, even though it's short and rough. She turns back just before she goes, searching Max's confused face, looking into her deep blue, questioning eyes. They're so beautiful, along with everything about her. Victoria’s heart feels like it's constricting.

“I hope you're happy.” She says weakly, turning and quickly pacing down the hall, eyes stinging with built-up emotion.

She feels betrayed, yet Max has never promised her anything. She feels cheated, yet she has nothing to be cheated out of. She feels alone, and it threatens to consume her.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Tori


	5. Eyes Of The Muse

**Blackwell Academy**  
**Prescott Dormitory, Female Ward, Room 219**  
**Friday, October 25, 2013**  
**10:31 am**

When Max is finished staring after a retreating, teary-eyed Victoria in the hallway, she steps quietly back into her room and cautiously shuts the door. Dana is plopped back on the navy blue rug, her legs spread out in front of her towards either side. Her arms extend behind her for support as she leans slightly back, a contemplative and slightly sour look on her face.

“What the fuck?” She mumbles, looking up at Max for some sort of explanation, of which she has none.

“I wish I knew, believe me.” Max sighs heavily, stepping closer to Dana and reaching out her hand to help her back up. As she does this, her eyes find their way to the clock on her hi-fi, widening considerably at the time.

“Oh shit, P.E! I have class at 11:00!” Barely managing to set Dana properly on her feet, Max scrambles over to her closet and starts to flail around inside it, randomly pulling out what she assumes will be wearable for the day. She's about to rip off her pajama shirt when she feels a hand on her shoulder, gripping with a gentle firmness. She looks up to see Dana’s amused gaze, her blue-green eyes regarding Max with playful criticism.

“I don't know if our relationship is quite at the nudity level yet, Caulfield.” She teases, watching as Max’s eyes widen with the realization of what she had been about to do.

“Uh-- oh, um, yeah, sorry about that. Do you want to like, turn around, or something? I could go change in the--” This time, Dana takes advantage of the situation, leaning down and cupping the shorter girl’s face with one hand, watching her freckles become framed by flushed skin, accentuating her frazzled irises. Max has one arm inside her coffee cup shirt, the other hanging uselessly against her side.

“Meet me in front of the school at lunch.” Dana says, before placing a slightly longer kiss than their first on Max’s lips and hugging her for a few seconds. She then strolls over to the door, waving goofily and grinning. She blows Max yet another kiss before pulling the door open and heading out of the room.

Max stands there for a few seconds before realizing that if she's late for P.E, Mrs. Vega will probably make her run until she either collapses or dies. She’s dressed and out of the dorm in record time.

\---------

Victoria isn't able to focus for the entirety of her 11am class, her mind filled with thoughts of Max and Dana, jealousy and bitterness seeming to form a toxic bubble around her, successfully steering her classmates away from conversation. She has a way of broadcasting her negative feelings through the air like radio waves, letting anyone who‘s unfortunate enough to cross her path know that they need to get out of her face as soon as possible. She finds herself starting to view Dana Ward as the embodiment of all that sucks in the world, the manifestation of everything that's out to get her.

 _Fucking thief. Amazon-esque, annoyingly perfect, admittedly attractive thief. Stole my tiny hipster._ Thoughts like these tear their way through Victoria’s consciousness for the entirety of World History, causing her to completely disregard the teacher’s lecture. The 3.9 GPA student inside of her nags her to pay attention, but the pissed off jealous bitch inside of her isn't having any of it. The Roman Empire can wait until after she's figured out a plan of action.

Ward had managed to win Max over by simply being _friendly_ and _charming_ , so that must be what Victoria has to do too, right? _It can't be that hard. I can be nice. I've done it before, of course I have. I just can't think of a specific example right now. This'll be fine_. The tentative plan re-establishes her sense of propriety, allowing her to catch the last bit of the lecture before class ends.

Lunchtime seems to be the perfect opportunity to put her idea into motion.

 _Get ready to be_ pleasant _, Victoria_.

She steels herself as the sharp ringing of the dismissal bell meets her ears.

\----------

“Do you think we should have the party staff dress up as skeletons, or zombies? They've got to be uniform, at least, right?” Dana sits on top of a concrete picnic table on Blackwell’s front lawn, legs resting on either side of Max, who’s sitting like a normal person on the table’s bench. The two have already finished their food, and are currently killing the rest of the period by doing some more Halloween party planning. What _else_ would they be doing?

Max looks up at the cheerleader, grinning as she watches her blow a huge bubble with her pastel pink chewing gum, her eyebrows raised expectantly as she waits for an answer. She's wearing a red and white letterman jacket and ripped, black skinny jeans, her auburn hair up in its usual ponytail. Max has noticed lately that she's been going without her regular huge earrings, instead opting for small crystal studs. Curiosity attempts to seep into Max’s mind, but she quells the thoughts by mulling over Dana’s question.

“How about we do mummies? They seem like they're the most underrated Halloween monsters in the grand scheme of things.” She answers after a beat, moving one of her hands to drum her fingers against Dana’s knee. The taller girl lets out a laugh, placing her hand on top of Max’s and grinning.

“You really are a hipster, aren't you?” She teases, playing with the other girl’s freckled fingers. Max’s heart warms at the soothing contact despite the quip, and she just smiles and shrugs.

“Alright, CleoMaxtra, mummies they shall be.” Dana confirms, looking proud of herself for coming up with yet another annoying nickname.

“King Tut would be proud.” Max replies, letting her gaze wander around the front lawn, the autumn sunlight casting golden rays across yellowing grass and fire colored leaves. The area is occupied by a smattering of Blackwell students relaxing and eating, including a group throwing a frisbee around and running back and forth across an expanse of open grass.

All is as it should be, perhaps even better, given the fact that the new couple’s fingers are now intertwined, resting comfortably against the taller girl’s thigh. Max’s eyes flicker up to look at her, but she is startled slightly when she sees someone else, someone with pristine blonde hair and coffee-colored eyes. Victoria’s gaze is impossible to decipher, but she doesn't seem to harbor any negative intentions. At first, she seems to exude a sort of melancholy mood, but the flash of emotion is gone as soon as it appears.

“Hey, you okay?” Max’s view of Victoria, who stands several feet away near a tall, orange-leaved tree, is suddenly blocked completely by a red-and-white-clad shoulder, and subsequently by Dana’s slightly concerned face, her eyes soft and searching. “You jumped a little. What are you looking at?--” She twists her head around to peer behind her, spotting the blonde almost immediately and stiffening. She whips back around and leans down toward Max, lowering her voice to a whisper. “What do you think _she_  wants?” She asks, blinking. “Is she here to explain why she was acting so weird this morning? It isn't like her to apologize, so she's gotta be here to make some lame excuse or something--”

Victoria _smiles_ at Max. She looks directly into her eyes, staring, and grins. Her pink lips turn up, showing a flash of white as she lingers for a bit, then starts to turn around, setting off in the opposite direction. It's inexplicable, when she smiles. It hits Max like a speeding truck, labeled ‘oversized-load.’ She stares at the spot of empty air where the blonde had stood. She wishes she could see that same expression again, over and over. She wishes she could be the cause of that expression. The halcyon sunshine had highlighted her features much like it had during their confrontation in the photography classroom, only this time it had been better. She wishes she would have taken a photo. Seeing Victoria happy-- or, at least, trying to be-- is a memory that Max realizes she wants to have forever; it shakes up the natural way of things, opening up new possibilities and new paths and new _beginnings_.

But, then again, Max could be over-thinking the smile. Victoria could have been looking at someone else, or maybe she didn't recognize that it had been Max she had been smiling at.

“Huh, she left. I was ready for a serious smackdown if she tried anything shifty.” Somehow, Dana sounds sort of disappointed that nothing had happened.

 _Write that down on the ‘Things Max Wants To Be Nosy About, But Is Kind Of Too Scared To Pursue’ list_.

“You're all bark and no bite, Great Dane.” The shorter girl replies, drawing invisible designs with her finger on Dana's palm as the latter scoffs at the joke. Max doesn't see Victoria for the rest of the day.

 


End file.
